GM livestock could help solve food crisis, US scientist says

Professor Jim Murray from the University of California says that genetically modified livestock is a practical solution to global food security.

Murray says that by altering an animal’s genetic makeup to make it healthier, farmers will be able to produce livestock more efficiently, ABC Rural reports.

“I don’t think it will change the way people farm, but hopefully what we can do with the science is to make animals more efficient, so they take less environmental resources to produce the food,” said Murray.

“Remember, with increasing population in the world, we have to produce more food, but we’re not going to have more water or more land to produce that food on, but more people are going to require more food.”

Considering the limited resources that we have, coupled with the vast environmental impacts associated with livestock production, scientists long have been looking to create a sustainable alternative to meat.

Last year, researchers from the Netherlands created the world’s first test-tube grown meat patty, or ‘vitro meat’ patty as it is otherwise know, by using strands of meat grown from muscle cells taken from a living cow. Lead researcher, University of Maastricht professor, Mark Post hopes that the virto meat will become a sustainable meat option in the future.

"Livestock meat production is not good for the environment, is eventually not going to meet the demands of the world and it's not good for the animals," he said.

The UN have also long raised concerns over the issue of food security and have suggested that Western consumers consider eating insects as they are a viable protein source that is also environmentally friendly, but also has the potential to aid in the battle against obesity.